I guess this must be old wording, but by Trainer here they mean Item cards right? Aren’t Stadiums, Pokemon Tools, Items, and Supporters all Trainers?

achildrenscardgame

Yeah, it’s old wording. In the HGSS-era they distinguished between Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums, rather than what they do now with Items/Supporters/Stadiums, which all fall under the umbrella term of “Trainer.”

Kami_sama_no_Otaku

Yeah, it was an example of “Good idea, dubious implementation.” When the game began, there was only one kind of Trainer. Stadiums were added in the Gym sets (Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge). Tools first appeared in Neo Genesis. Supporters debuted in Expedition. I think in all cases but Stadiums, there were cards that were kind of like proto-Type versions of the new Trainer subclass (or sub-subclass). There were still “normal” Trainers among these, however; what we’d now call Items. Unfortunately, they didn’t think to come up with the Item concept proper until the BW-era; instead, Stadium and Supporter cards became the fourth and fifth card Types; instead of Pokémon/Trainers/Energy, it was Pokémon/Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums/Energy… and we got a confusing chapter in the games history. XD

achildrenscardgame

It was weird because visually T/S/S all used the same format so it seemed strange to make the distinction. If they’re going to function separately, change the art style!

Curtis

Its weird, but at least it can be succinctly described. If it was printed in Gen 4, the word “Trainer” means “Item.” If it was printed in any other generation, “Trainer” means anything that isn’t a Pokemon or Energy.